The Gift of Purpose

God really does love us.

That's something that I'm constantly rediscovering because it can begin to sound cliche until I see what that really looks like in my life. The truth is, it's not just a good Sunday school answer; It's a very profound truth.

One of the coolest ways that God has shown His love for me is through a really exciting gift, the gift of purpose. We all know that God has a purpose for our life, but rarely do we think of it as the amazing gift that it really is.

When I look around at my generation (well, all people, but I especially see it in high school students,) I see a deep longing for purpose, for meaning in life. We want to know that there's a reason that we're here. We want to know that the path we choose after graduation is going to have a deeper meaning than simply a good career. When I look up “What is the meaning of life?” on WikiAnswers (because that’s obviously the most reliable source) some interesting answers are given: to live life to the full, to have happiness, to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually, the meaning of life is to die, the meaning of life is whatever you want it to be, there is no meaning to life, to continue our species, to learn from mistakes, eating pie and watching football (no joke, that was one of the answers) and that’s only a small fraction of the answers people were giving. There’s a great search for meaning, but without God, there’s no logical place to find that meaning.

See, God doesn't create purposeless beings. We have this longing for a reason. We want to have a purposeful life because God created us for a purpose. And giving us that purpose is such a great gift!

So, what is that purpose? Well, there's the general, foundational purpose of bringing glory to God that applies to all of us, and there's the great commission:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

-Mathew 28:19-20a

But then there’s the individual purpose, your own unique reason for being here. The people that God wants to talk to through you, the towns that He wants to change through you, the poor and needy that He wants to save through you, and whatever else He calls you to do. And that’s such a crazy gift.